A 300,000-square-foot exhibit hall that can split into three … the largest ballroom in the state … a 1,000-room headquarters hotel … an arena built for weekend volleyball, basketball and cheerleading tournaments … walkways straight into American Dream … and something happening on as many as 313 days a year.
That’s the vision for a convention center at the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Backers say it would draw 2 million visitors a year, support more than 3,700 permanent jobs and generate $30.4 billion in long-term economic activity.
Since the Meadowlands Chamber unveiled its site plan in April, the project has been doing its homework. A two-year Scoping Assessment is now complete. National research with meeting and convention planners, including a focus group and a nationwide survey by the research firm Cygnal, found that 80% would consider booking an event there, and that the Meadowlands beat Manhattan on cost, 71-9.
Then there’s this: The original demand study was re-tested against the final design and came back stronger. Outside firms reviewed permitting, bond financing and environmental law to make sure no surprises were waiting. The team also mapped out every step and cost of the state review it’s now asking for.
Last week, official from the Meadowlands Chamber and other backers of the project walked public officials and business and labor leaders through the findings.
Now comes the ask. The Chamber and the Meadowlands 2040 Foundation have asked the Governor’s Office for $2.7 million to $3.8 million to fund a state-supervised final phase, Path to Authorization. That means the business plan, financing strategy and engineering, environmental and operational reviews the governor and the Legislature would need to decide, once and for all, whether to build it.
The Chamber’s briefing materials put it plainly: “Funding additional due diligence is not a commitment to build the project. It is a commitment to making the eventual decision on the basis of complete information. Information that has been proven to be worthy.”
Chamber CEO Jim Kirkos made it clear: The money isn’t a commitment to build. It’s a commitment to decide.
“The data we have collected to date certainly supports the remaining due diligence,” he told BINJE.
Kirkos, long the biggest champion of the project, is thrilled that it’s the furthest the idea has come in the more than a decade he has been pushing it.
“New Jersey has an extraordinary opportunity to establish a major convention destination in one of the country’s most valuable business and tourism markets,” he said. “The Meadowlands already attracts millions of visitors for sports, entertainment and shopping. A convention center would bring an entirely new segment of business to the region and generate economic activity throughout the year. With the market opportunity now established, the state is in a strong position to take the next step toward realizing the project’s potential.”
What’s been done
With lead consultant Axiom Communications, the Chamber convened a team of convention industry, architectural, engineering, financial and development consultants. It concludes that the former Meadowlands Arena site can hold a facility that meets a real market need: conventions, exhibitions, corporate meetings and youth and amateur sporting events that the region can’t currently host.
The backers brought in some of the top law firms in New Jersey since the April announcement, including:
- Genova Burns: To review which state institutions could house the project and what permits it would need;
- CSG: To analyze bonding and financing;
- Scarinci Hollenbeck: To review site and environmental law.
Within a comprehensive set of planning documents, the Chamber produced an 11-step Path to Authorization due-diligence plan envisioned to be carried out by a state-populated work group that would map of the costs and processes associated with pursuing the project. Axiom’s president, Ron Simoncini, notes that as comprehensive as the scoping plan has been, it is a demonstration project whose nature prevented definitive development of a business plan.
“A state working group provides the authority to conditionally and speculatively explore public private partnership and financing vehicles,” Simoncini said. “Populating that work group with representatives from the state agencies that will govern various functions is a necessary step for practicality as well as transparency. It shows the market that given a favorable outcome, we can bring our plan to the Sherrill Administration and Legislature for a decision.”
What planners say
The Chamber commissioned the planner research with Meetings Today Media, Cygnal and the David Dubois Group.
The findings:
- 80% of planners surveyed would consider booking an event at the facility, and 45% said they would be very likely to;
- 90% of planners were familiar with the Meadowlands;
- Planners rated the Meadowlands 65-13 favorable, in the range of established Northeast destinations such as Boston (65-9) and Baltimore (67-12);
- Cost is the top factor in site selection. In the survey, 53% named total venue, labor and service costs as a top priority;
- The Meadowlands beat Manhattan on cost (71-9), on ease of getting attendees there (56-16) and on appeal (49-25).
Then there’s this: The facility is aimed at mid-size events. Half of the planners surveyed run events of 2,000 or more people, the range that tends to get priced out of New York.
“The data and survey confirms what we always knew to be true: the Meadowlands Sports Complex along with its existing regional destination assets and accommodations provide a compelling cost advantage over New York City,” Kirkos said.
What comes next
The Meadowlands Chamber is recommending a state-supervised process led by a work group appointed by the governor. The N.J. Economic Development Authority, the N.J. Sports and Exposition Authority and other agencies would take part.
The work would cover five areas:
- engineering and regulatory requirements;
- construction budgeting and procurement;
- public-private financing;
- operational management and governance;
- state approvals needed to move forward.
“The state working group would provide the official gravitas we need to have substantial discussions and negotiations with interested parties,” Kirkos said. “And believe me there are many interested parties.”
The project today
In all, the plan calls for approximately 460,000 square feet of exhibition, meeting and ballroom space, plus transportation, parking and infrastructure improvements. The development is estimated at $3.8 billion to $4.25 billion and would be built through a public-private partnership, creating 5,000 union construction jobs.
Fletch Creamer Jr., Chairman of the Board of the Meadowlands 2040 Foundation, says the benefits would reach well past the parking lots.
“A convention center of this scale would have an impact far beyond the Meadowlands Sports Complex,” he said. “It would open new markets for businesses of every size, encourage additional private investment and support the growth of the hospitality and service industries throughout northern New Jersey.
“The opportunity isn’t limited to the events held inside the building.”
